A Reluctant Bride
by 1CarinoInu
Summary: A time when battles are fought and Knights roamed the country in search of victories, love can sometimes be found in the strangest of ways.


_AN: This was originally written for Dokuga Moderator Appreciation Month for MoxxyMikki and felt like sharing it with those of my loyal readers at FFdotnet. _

_WARNING: This has a heavy lemon content marked after the *****. I am warning you now that if you are not of age, please do not read this._

_Anyway, I hope you like it. I sure enjoyed writing it!_

* * *

The one called the 'Angel of Death' made his way through the countryside upon Justice, his great white stallion. His purpose was clear, to marry and beget himself an heir.

Sesshomaru Taisho, Lord of the Western Territories was a force to be reckoned with. He was once a man without a stitch to his name, a knight that battled to earn what he now had. The Crown had recognized that he was a being to have on their side; otherwise, he may well take over the entire country.

Few had seen the Angel's face since he never removed his armor or faceplate in battle. Those that faced him only saw his eyes. They were the most unusual almond shape and the color of the brightest amber. He wore armored plating of polished metal that gleamed in the sunlight, blinding his foes in battle. He had found it to be advantageous and used the sun and its reflection upon his armor against his enemy. He was cunning and intelligent, a fierce warrior in battle. And he was merciful, that was how he came into his name.

He was a fair and honest ruler, one whose leadership was talked about throughout the realm. The land he held was fertile and vast, and many families had left the other territories to live within the Western Lands hoping to cash in on its bounty. Sesshomaru protected his lands and his people with an iron fist, dealing with thieves and cutthroats the only way he knew how. Death.

But his face was never seen outside of his massive stone home. Many had spoken that because of the many battles he had fought that he had become disfigured causing him to hide behind his armored mask. No female dared to approach him and he did not encourage it.

In truth, underneath the solid armor was a man of almost ethereal beauty, with high cheekbones and a sharp aristocratic nose to go with his golden eyes. His hair was like silver silk that ran down his back to his knees when not pulled up in a leather thong. His skin was light having been protected by the harshness of the sun by the armor he wore. Under the armor was a solid body of masculinity, firm with hardened muscles from long years of swordplay and battles. At home, he was able to shed the armor for his white tunics and soft brown leather braes that managed to soften the harsh look he usually wore on the outside.

But he never showed emotion. He was cold and stoic, all business.

He had secured his lands and built his home. He was prepared to do what needed to be done to ensure his line continued to rule those lands. Today he would take his wife.

It was ten years ago when he first met her. Sesshomaru and his men had come upon a small caravan that was under attack by bandits. Not one to get in the business of others, he had almost ordered his men to go elsewhere when he heard the scream of a female child. He did not care for the practice of taking of young females against their will and decided he would see about discouraging the male that had decided to do so.

What he saw made his blood boil. A group of about five men, obviously of lower birth and not part of the caravan, had lined up behind their leader who had bound the hands of a young girl of about 15 years of age, and was trying to strip her of her clothing. She struggled like a hellcat, screaming and twisting trying to evade the hands of the male upon her. A few other men held onto other members of the caravan, keeping them from their prize.

Without further thought, Sesshomaru drew his sword and attacked the distracted bandits running them through. His men followed his lead killing the fiends and releasing the prisoners.

When he faced the leader, Sesshomaru sneered at him while his golden eyes burned, "You disgust me," before slicing him down.

The young girl that had been attacked had quieted when the heavy body had been lifted from her. She looked at the knight in the shining silver armor and knew she had been saved.

Shaking the blood of the filth he had just destroyed from his sword, he sheathed it before looking at the girl on the ground. She had dark blue-black hair that hung in disarray about her, framing her heart-shaped face. Her striking dark blue eyes were like the brightest sapphire stone and sparkled in the sunlight.

An older female, similar in looks, ran up to the girl while crying, "Kagome, Kagome! Are you all right? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, momma. Help me get covered though," the girl, Kagome, replied with an inner strength that surprised Sesshomaru. Surly this girl should be terrified of what had just transpired.

When the girl had been sufficiently covered, her mother turned to their savior. "Thank you, milord. Thank you for saving my daughter from a fate worse than death," she cried as she got to her knees and bowed at his feet. "My Lord and husband shall reward you for saving us, especially for protecting my daughter's virtue."

"Who is your Lord?" he asked.

"Lord Higurashi of the Eastern Territories, milord," she replied still looking at the ground.

And the Lord of the East did reward Sesshomaru. He gave him the hand of his daughter in marriage.

However, at the time, Sesshomaru was still establishing himself and still had a home to build and allies to gain. It was not yet time to take a wife, and the time it would take to complete his task would allow the young girl to mature.

And so ten years later found Sesshomaru and a few of his chosen knights on the way to gather his wife. A messenger had already been sent to Lord Higurashi to expect him and his contingent of men and to prepare for the wedding.

Upon his arrival, he found the house in an uproar. His message had been received, but apparently the young Kagome was missing.

"Milord, I must apologize for my daughter," Akihiro Higurashi sighed. "She is extremely stubborn and single-minded, a most unsuitable wife, I'm afraid," he explained.

"Hn," was the reply. Sesshomaru left the hall of Higurashi manor and searched the grounds. When he was unable to locate her in the gardens he looked within the large stables. There he found her, talking to a large gray mare.

"Why do they think I want to marry anyone?" she asked. "Can't they just let me be? I'd rather take the vow and join a convent," she told the horse.

"And allow such beauty to whither away within the walls of a church? I think not, milady," came a resounding baritone voice.

Kagome's eyes widened as she inhaled in fear. Seeing the silver knight at the opening of the stables she cried, "YOU!"

The knight's head tilted to the side as if in question. He began to approach her slowly, taking measured steps so as not to scare her off.

"You've run away from your betrothed, milady. What is it you fear?" the knight asked.

"I fear nothing!" she adamantly replied. She faced the being that approached her, her hands on her hips accentuating her form.

She was no longer the skinny waif from before. The lady Kagome that stood before him now was a woman grown. At the age of five and twenty, her form had filled out beautifully. Her breasts were full but not overly large or too small, her waist was small as accented by the girdle she wore, to the hips that flared nicely from there. Childbearing hips.

The unruly hair was no longer wild, but had been brushed and tamed into long waves down her back. The front had been braided and pulled back to reveal her beautiful eyes instead of hiding them. Those blue eyes sparkled with determination and strength, traits he respected in all beings. Even in women.

"It has been ten years, milady. I have left you alone to get used to the idea of marriage. Will you continue to fight me?" was the cold question.

"How can I marry someone I do not know?" she countered.

"Marriages have been made on less," he replied.

"Harrumph," she grumbled and crossed her arms over her chest, giving Sesshomaru a lovely view of the top of her bosom. "You save me from villains, contract a marriage to me with my father, and then go on your merry way. Not exactly romantic," she mumbled. "Besides, I've never seen your face."

"You wish to see my face, milady? Why?" He asked.

"Can I not see the face of the man I am supposed to marry? No one has ever seen the face of the 'Angel of Death,'" she told him. "Shouldn't I be able to? Is it to much to ask?"

"What if I am disfigured, milady? Would you turn me away? Refuse me as your betrothed and dishonor your father, mother and yourself?" he posed.

Straightening her back, Kagome was incensed. "You call question on my honor, sir? When you cannot even show me some courtesy of acknowledging my existence over the last ten years that we were betrothed? At my age, I should be married already! I should already have children at my feet and a household to manage! If anything, I call your honor into question! Where have you been, Lord Sesshomaru? Where have you been while I have had to weather the looks of pity from other women and decline the offers of other men!" she spat in anger.

_Damnation, this woman is infuriating. _ He cornered her back against the wall of the stable, his body hard and unyielding against it.

"Woman, I'll have you know that I have been preparing for my future wife by establishing my rule of your future home and lands, _building_ your home and all that is housed within it, ensuring that there is a place for you to birth and raise our children," he ground out.

She looked into his golden eyes, the only visible part of him and saw the raw passion held within them. She felt the hardness of his body against hers and she shuddered, but not in fear. There was something about him that fairly called to her.

"Please milord? May I see your face?" she asked quietly.

She saw that he was thinking about it, considering her request. Moments went by and she thought he would decline her request, but he pulled away and turned around, facing away from her. He then removed the helmet that had served to hide his true face for so many years.

Kagome watched with baited breath as the helmet came off revealing a head of silver hair. That hair was held up in a high ponytail that when released from its prison fell down to the back of her lord's knees. He then turned around.

Her eyes widened and she gasped. In front of her was a man of incredible beauty unlike any other she had ever seen. Silver bangs brushed against his shapely eyebrows that framed those incredible eyes. She took in every feature of him and was very pleased with what she saw.

"Well?" her betrothed asked. He seemed worried at how she would react.

She took tentative steps before she stopped before him. Bringing her right hand up, she gently touched his cheek running it to the strong jaw and to his chin. Then she ran her fingers over his soft lips, licking her own unconsciously in the process.

"You are quite handsome, milord. Almost beautiful," she whispered. "Why do you hide behind the mask?"

"Because, there are those that would see my looks as weakness," he told her. "It is easier to hide behind the mask and pretend that I am disfigured and be taken seriously, than to show my true self and be laughed at."

"But your actions, your prowess in battle should be enough to prove that you are more than just a handsome face, milord."

"Perhaps," he agreed. "But then, if I had not hidden my looks, I might have too many females looking to trap me into marriage," he jested.

Kagome's eyes hardened. "They would not dare! You are betrothed to _me_."

"Ah, there is the fiery spirit I have come to associate with you," he murmured. "Come, there is a wedding to be had, milady. Or will you continue to fight the inevitable?"

"Are you mocking me, milord?" Kagome bristled.

He smiled, the first smile she had ever seen touch his face. It was amazing.

"Never."

Sesshomaru offered her his arm, which she took, and escorted her to the manor house and to the beginning of their lives together.

The wedding had taken place in the home of her father along with the wedding banquet. Normally, they would adjourn to the home of the husband to consummate the marriage, but the journey was more than a day so it was decided that they would stay the night.

That left her presently in her own bedroom.

She sat in front of the large mirror as her handmaiden prepared her for her wedding night. Her wedding dress had been removed and replaced with a sheer linen shift that left nothing to the imagination. Her maid finished taking unbraiding and brushing her hair to leave it the shiny black waterfall down her back.

At that moment, her bedroom door opened to reveal her husband and lord. Kagome looked into the mirror that reflected his presence there and saw the way his eyes burned with a passion she had seen earlier that day. While there was no love between them at this stage, she had hoped that they would find something, maybe a friendship ahead of them.

Kagome dismissed her maid and stood to turn and face her lord. He stood there this time without his armor. His physique was solid and his height well over six feet placing her head just below his shoulder. He wore a white tunic and brown leather braes that enhanced the features of his body leaving little to Kagome's innocent imagination.

'_By all that is holy, he is magnificent,'_ she thought

She stood before him and nodded a slight bow, "Welcome, milord."

Sesshomaru looked at the lovely vision in the revealing white shift and felt his body begin to harden in response. He knew she was beautiful before, but seeing the outline of her breasts and her nipples peaking in the cool air through the shift did mean things to his self-control.

He pulled her into his arms, not wanting to give her a chance to disappear on him and brought his lips to hers. Sesshomaru felt her arms tentatively wrap around his neck and a sense of triumph went through him. _She wanted him._ He cradled her neck with one hand as he purposely deepened the kiss causing her to shudder in response.

Then his tongue gently probed at her mouth and she hesitantly opened for him allowing him to plunder her mouth, tasting and taking from her, causing Kagome to moan in appreciation. He slid his hand down her back, deliberately urging her closer until her soft breasts were crushed against his chest and the gentle curve of her mound pressed against his fully hardened shaft.

Sesshomaru pulled her towards her canopied bed and laid her down upon the drawn covers. He stared at her, noting how her hair was like a halo around her head. Her lips were red and swollen from his attentions and were parted as she panted.

Sesshomaru began pulling at his tunic and he heard the fine linen tear, but he paid no attention. All that mattered now was making love to Kagome. He removed the shirt from his body, impatient to feel Kagome's hands upon his bare skin. He sat down on the edge of the bed and removed his boots before lowering himself down beside his bride. He gathered her in his arms.

"Touch me, Kagome," he said with a hoarse voice. "I want to feel your hands on me."

The tentative feeling of her fingers was almost his undoing. They stroked the cords of muscle on his arms and his chest, and then she rubbed his male nipples causing a spark of flame to go through his very veins.

"Enough, woman, or this night will be over before it has begun," he groaned.

He rolled up and sat on his knees next to her and began to pull her gown from her knees up past her thighs until he had it pulled over her head an off of her.

"Gods woman, you are beauty beyond compare," he told her as he leaned over her and took her mouth with his own.

He then began nipping and licking his way down her body enjoying the way she writhed beneath him, stopping when he made it to her breast. He blew upon one nipple and watched it peak and then suckled on it causing Kagome to whimper with need. He left the one and treated the other the same, all the while distracting her while he unfastened and removed his braes from his lower half.

He wedged one of his knees between her legs and with one hand began the search for her womanly center. When he found her moist center, he probed it gently with one finger.

"Sesshomaru?" Kagome asked, not sure what was happening.

"Shh, Kagome. All will be well. Just enjoy it," he assured her.

She was as hot and wet as he had known she would be. Sesshomaru sank one finger deep into her slick, tight channel tightening around him like a well-made glove. The sensation was indescribable.

Sesshomaru slowly pulled his finger out only to plunge it back in enjoying the way her body clenched around him and Kagome shuddered. He repeated this until she was so slick as to allow a second finger in and then rubbed the sensitive bud outside causing her to respond by shifting her hips against his thrusting hand. Sesshomaru was truly pleased. Her response was indescribable. She was hot, wet and almost ready.

It was not long before her body went rigid and Kagome seemed to scream silently in her release, giving him the chance he needed to plunge his hardened member within her. Her alarmed shriek was cut off by his mouth over her own as Sesshomaru held himself within her smoldering heat, her body trying to push him out yet draw him in at the same time.

Sesshomaru pulled away from Kagome's lips noticing that her eyes were clenched shut. "Kagome. Kagome, look at me."

She focused at the sound of a voice and her eyes opened reluctantly.

"That's better," he smiled and then gently began to kiss her lips, her chin, and her jaw, anything to try to draw her attention from the pain. "Relax, Kagome. Let me try to take your mind off of it," he told her as he continued to try to distract her with his languid kisses. As he continued to divert her attention away from the pain, Kagome was beginning to relax and her arousal was beginning to rebuild.

Feeling the tight clamp of her thighs begin to relax and the telltale flexing of her hips towards his, Sesshomaru pulled out a little and then slowly pushed back in, causing both of the involved parties to moan. Keeping his arms on either side of Kagome's head, he kept his face close to hers so that he could watch each and every facial expression that lit her face.

He took his time taking long, languid strokes and slowly building the pleasure. He wanted to show that he could take his time with her and gently make love to her. Later, when she was ready, he would show her pleasures beyond gentle lovemaking.

His balls tightened at that thought and he increased his pace a little more; drawing sweet mewls and moans from his wife. He wasn't going to last much longer.

Kagome was lost in the amazing sensations she was feeling. The tightening she had felt before when Sesshomaru's fingers had explored her was nothing compared to the slow build of pleasure she was experiencing now. It was then that Sesshomaru lost himself to his hunger for her and increased his pace, his hips pounding in and out of her sweet body enjoying the way Kagome responded. Her cries of 'harder' and 'faster' egged him on to the point that he was afraid he might hurt her, but the way she screamed in her desire told him she was just as lost in her feelings as he was.

And then it came to an excruciating climax of epic proportions. Kagome screamed out as her body went rigid once again in her end. Sesshomaru's lower body jerked once, twice, and thrice when he let out a shout and a groan as his body released its seed into her welcoming sheath.

Sesshomaru fell upon his wife, then wrapped his arms around her and rolled on his back, taking her with him so she was on top of him. He kept himself deeply imbedded within her warmth, his still hardened member had seemed to not be quite done with her yet. They both lay there, panting from their exertions, feeling as if they had ridden miles across the land on horseback.

When it seemed that they had caught their breath, Kagome mumbled, "Will it always be like that, milord?"

Sesshomaru chuckled at the innocent question. "I hope so, Kagome," he replied as he held her tightly. "I hope so."

Through that night, sounds of their pleasure could be heard throughout the hall. Lord and Lady Higurashi smiled at each other, grateful that the 'Angel of Death' had saved their daughter from a terrible fate that day ten years ago. Today, they were able to celebrate the life that would be created from their union.


End file.
